New proposed Ames convention center...

[Transient]

To be built north of a renovated Scheman building, elevated, 120,000+ sqr. feet, $32 million dollars, adds $5 dollars to you property taxes from the city side. ISU's payment plan has not been determined, they think it's needed to make Ames/ISU competitive for conventions:
Ames Convention Center vote less than two months away | Ames Tribune

 

[baller21]

the $5 is just an average. It's actually a 5.3% rate hike for all residents and businesses.

 

[Mumbai1986]

Oh, it needs 60% of support. If opposition does arise, the 60% might be difficult to attain.

Where would this complex be located?

 

[brianhos]

Does Ames really have big conventions they are missing out on? There is no where for attendees to stay in Ames, so they will have to stay in DSM anyway. Why not just have convention there?

 

[kilgore_trout]

What sort of conventions are they seeking to host and why? No hotel? Parking ramp?

Fail.

 

[Goldfinger]

Hope they name it the Hoiberg Center

 

[Mumbai1986]

This the website

Home

 

[JP4CY]

Every decent sized city in the US says they need a convention center because they are losing business, so I figured Ames wouldn't feel anything different.
$32 million sees like a lot for a convention center. That much will pay for a state of the art school now with classrooms, athletics, parking lot. You would think this would be a little cheaper than that.

 

[cytech]

Every decent sized city in the US says they need a convention center because they are losing business, so I figured Ames wouldn't feel anything different.
$32 million sees like a lot for a convention center. That much will pay for a state of the art school now with classrooms, athletics, parking lot. You would think this would be a little cheaper than that.

That seems pretty cheap, the city of CR just built a facility near the same size. They also renovated the arena and hotel for a price tag of around $160 million. The city bonded around $90 million of the cost, except they didn't ask voters

 

[brianhos]

Every decent sized city in the US says they need a convention center because they are losing business, so I figured Ames wouldn't feel anything different.
$32 million sees like a lot for a convention center. That much will pay for a state of the art school now with classrooms, athletics, parking lot. You would think this would be a little cheaper than that.

But Ames is not a decent sized city, it is a small city. Students are not going to be attending conventions, so a town of 25k cannot support a convention center. Other than ISU, there are no employers in Ames that would need facilities this size.

 

[Die4Cy]

Convention centers are the city fashion equivalent to knee high boots for women. You have to have one because everyone else does. There are probably already more convention centers that there are conventions in the state of Iowa. I don't have a dog in this fight, but it seems like sort of a head scratcher.

 

[chuckd4735]

But Ames is not a decent sized city, it is a small city. Students are not going to be attending conventions, so a town of 25k cannot support a convention center. Other than ISU, there are no employers in Ames that would need facilities this size.

The Gateway has good convention space for a city the size if Ames, IMO. Larger conventions won't come to Ames when there are not enough hotels and you have a 45 minute drive to the nearest airport.

 

[Haverhill]

Ames continues to look dumb by building in the floodplain. Mother nature always wins...

 

[chuckd4735]

Ames continues to look dumb by building in the floodplain. Mother nature always wins...

Dumb is putting it nicely.

 

[AllN4ISU]

Ames continues to look dumb by building in the floodplain. Mother nature always wins...

Reading is hard..."It would be connected to the north side of the Scheman building and elevated over its parking lot to be flush with the building's ground floor and stay out of the flood plain."

 

[aute19]

Bad idea is bad.

 

[Luth4Cy]

Reading is hard..."It would be connected to the north side of the Scheman building and elevated over its parking lot to be flush with the building's ground floor and stay out of the flood plain."

I understand why they want it connected to Schemann, but that seems like a lot of work and money for something they could build out of the flood plain.

 

[CyCrazy]

This won't pass anyway. Ames residents won't vote this through, and its a dumb idea.

 

[Rods79]

The sketchup renderings alone are enough to tell me they aren't really taking this seriously.

 

[kcdc4isu]

If ti passes will depend somewhat on the downtown business groups wants. If they want it they will work to get it but if not they will work against it like they did on the proposed mall on I35 north.